Can an iPhone actually get a virus?

a proper virus that spreads between apps, practically no. apps are walled off from each other and from the system, so there isn't really a way for one to infect the phone like on a pc. a jailbroken phone is a different story. what people actually run into is stuff that looks like a virus: - safari pop ups saying your iphone is infected. it's a web page, close the tab and clear history and website data under settings > apps > safari - spam calendar events. you tapped subscribe on a site at some point. remove it under calendar settings > calendar accounts > subscribed calendars - a profile you don't recognise under settings > general > vpn & device management. delete it if it's not from work or school keep ios updated and that covers most of the real risk.